"Your Majesty, Physician Dorothy is indeed in good health. I am just worried about the Queen. She had just sent for me, and I was still examining her when His Majesty’s urgent message came. She even sent the nanny beside her to inform the King. But Your Majesty has been anxious, and she did not get the chance to speak," Physician Nathan said.
At this moment, his mind was working quickly. In a moment of desperation, he had decided to shift the blame to Dorothy. Fortunately, he had not written down the prescription for her. He had only spoken it aloud. So, Dorothy had no evidence to implicate him. He made up his mind to speak about the queen’s situation to see the king’s reaction.
He did not feel guilty about this. After all, Dorothy was only a mistress. Judging by her pregnancy, she must have shared a bed with the King around his wedding day. A woman like her was deeply scheming, since she is not a good person herself no need to feel guilty.
King Edward was shocked. Anastasia had seemed in good health when they shared dinner the day before. But then again, sickness could come at any time. He regretted sending for Physician Nathan. After all, he had not yet decided what to do about Dorothy’s pregnancy.
"What is wrong with the Queen?" King Edward asked. With the Queen’s nanny present, he had to show care and concern.
"Your Majesty... The Queen appears to have eaten something wrong the previous night. Upon close examination she seems to be suffering from the medication she has been taking," Physician Nathan answered. Seeing that the King still showed some care about the Queen’s condition, Physician Nathan felt he had made the right bet.
Dorothy was pregnant with the King’s child; she would not suffer great punishment due to her situation. But he, Nathan, could lose his life and that of his family.
In any case, he had only been obeying the late King’s orders. He did not believe he had done anything wrong.
King Edward frowned. "What do you mean?" Eating something wrong and wrong medicine, the king felt there was more to the situation.
"Your Majesty, I just examined her and noticed something was wrong. I was going to ask Physician Dorothy how she has been preparing the medicine, but the Queen explained when she takes it and even said that Physician Dorothy had written down the prescription. She showed the prescription to me..." Physician Nathan suddenly paused. It looked as though he lacked the courage to speak the words on the tip of his tongue.
"What is wrong?" King Edward asked. His gaze was cold, and everyone in the room held their breath.
"There is an extra herb in the prescription. I haven’t yet fully identified it; it’s quite rare. Given the Queen’s condition, all the herbs she uses are rare. But I suspect this one has conflicting properties with the others," he said, his voice clear, though he frowned from time to time to convey uncertainty. The rıghtful source is NoveI-Fire.ɴet
King Edward frowned. An extra herb? He knew such things could completely alter a medicine’s effect.
"Go back and attend to the Queen," King Edward instructed. He turned to look at Dorothy beside him. Seeing that she appeared normal, he dismissed the suspicion in his heart.
Grater, on the other hand, bowed absentmindedly and left with Physician Nathan.
"Lady Dorothy has the King to protect her. Only if you’re honest with the Queen will you have a chance to survive," Grater said as they rode the carriage back to the main palace.
Physician Nathan turned to look at Grater, who stared at him with clear, penetrating eyes. He realized his guess had been correct. The Queen had already suspended Dorothy. All he had to do to save himself was follow her lead.
Even if the King believed Dorothy, the Queen would not. He was only a physician who had served the royal family loyally for years. He had no motive to hurt the Queen. On the other hand, Dorothy did. The prescription had only changed after she began caring for Anastasia. If that was the case, even if he were punished, his family would not be implicated.
He felt a flicker of guilt, thinking of Dorothy’s pregnancy but then again, why would the Queen ask to see the prescription unless Dorothy had done something wrong in the first place? Physician Nathan consoled himself.
Queen Mother’s Courtyard
"What did you say?" Mary, who was about to start her breakfast, froze upon hearing the news that Dorothy was pregnant.
"Your Grace, I have confirmed it. She is three months along," the lady-in-waiting beside her replied.
Queen Mary had been in charge of palace affairs for so long that nothing major—or minor—happened without her knowing.
Mary balled her fists. Judging by the timing, Dorothy had become pregnant on Edward’s wedding night. What a scandal. In another family, or another era, people might simply say Anastasia failed to keep her husband. But now, such talk would carry a much more dangerous meaning among the greedy nobles.
Edward would be seen as a man without principles, unfit to be King. The news of this pregnancy must not leave the palace.
"How many people are aware of this?" Mary asked, already calculating how to discreetly move Dorothy to a remote courtyard to have the child. No matter what, it was a royal seed and could not be discarded. Besides, given her son’s behavior, it seemed he cared for Dorothy.
"Your Grace, I’m not sure. The King tried to manage the situation. No one would dare to gossip about it for the time being. But Queen Anastasia must be aware. I heard the King sent for Physician Nathan while he was treating her," the lady-in-waiting said.
"Make sure the news doesn’t spread through the palace," Mary instructed. Many lords and nobles were visiting the palace at this time. If the situation wasn’t managed properly, someone might hear of it.
After giving her instructions, the Queen resumed her breakfast. The lady-in-waiting bowed and left the room.